Josh Ritter Working on New Album, Novel

Josh Ritter has a new full-length album and novel in the works, the songwriter told Paste. The yet-to-be-titled album will be a follow-up to 2010’s So Runs the World Away and will include songs that Ritter said are some of his most personal.

“It’s more autobiographical, which I’ve never really been a fan of, but I feel it’s pretty cathartic right now,” Ritter said. “With these, I’d say there might be lullabies, but there’s a razor blade in them. I’m loving the stuff.”

Ritter said the recording process has been a bit different this time around, with the singer electing to record the album in four-to-five song chunks. Ritter’s also planning on having a lot of material to pick from for the new album’s release.

“I’m really so pleased with it,” Ritter said. “With each record you begin, the only anxiety is that you’re going to repeat yourself, and that certainly isn’t happening on this one.”

This follows yesterday’s announcement of Bringing in the Darlings, a six-track, stripped-down EP of songs Ritter says are his versions of lullabies. Ritter’s second novel is also in the works. Although Ritter isn’t releasing the novel’s specific details just yet, he says that the follow-up to last year’s Bright’s Passage is “a pretty rowdy book.”

“I’m working my way through a second draft on that every day,” Ritter said. “I learned so much on the process and worked on my anxiety of whether I was doing it right. I’m just really enjoying this one.”

In other novel news, Ritter tweeted two days ago that he’s recording the audio version of Bright’s Passage. And if all the emerging news has you craving some new Ritter tunes, fear not: You can check out an exclusive new song from Bringing in the Darlings called “Why” here.